Mail deposit carrier actuated signaling flag



May 8, 1951 c. M. TURNER MAIL DEPOSIT CARRIER ACTUATED sxcmmc FLAG 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 16, 1948 Carl M. Turner INVENTOR.

y 11951 c. M. TURNER 2,551,915

MAIL DEPOSIT CARRIER ACTUATED SIGNALING FLAG Filed Jan. 16, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Carl M. Turner INVENTOR.

Patented May 8, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAIL DEPOSIT CARRIER ACTUATED SIGNALING FLAG Claims.

'This invention relates tocertainneW-and useful improvements in rural free delivery mailboxes and'has reference, in particular, to auxiliarysignalling means forming a part of the box structureand mutually performing to'serve the essential requirements of both residents and mail carriers.

Needless tosay, the art to which my invention relates is both active and well developed. Therefore, many and varied types of signalling flags and the like have been patented and have been used and proposed for use. Experience has shown, however, that constructions, the forms and few styles known to me, are inadequate to satisfactorily serve mail carriers and residents alike. It follows, therefore, that the chief purpose of the instant invention is to provide novel and improved means suchas will, it is believed, comply with virtually all needs of the aforementioned persons as well'as the demands of postal authorities.

Briefly, in carrying out the principles of the present invention, a construction is provided wherein the signalling flag assumes an up position when mail has been deposited by a carrier and assumes a down position when the deposited mail has been removed by the resident.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple and expedient signalling device which is substantially fool-proof, is possessed of reliable tell-tale requirements forall parties involved, and which is characterized by novel manually-actuated trip means situated and concealed within the mailbox and located justinwardl-y-of theusual hingedly mounted door, whereby to permit same to be operated by the mail carrier at the time mail is' deposited, by him, in the box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a highly practical and reliable signalling device which is such in construction and adaptability that the step of swinging the signalling flag to adown position by the resident re-sets the-mail carrier actuatedv means, the latter means then meets not only the requirement of users but Will undoubtedly comply with the more stringent requirements of postal authorities.

Briefly, the preferred embodiment of the in 'ventionis characterized by a simple hub assembly whereby the flag will be positively held and retained in both up and down positions.

Other objectives and appreciably resultful advantages Will become evident as the reader considers' the following detailed description and the complemental illustrative drawings.

In the'drawings, wherein like numeral are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a side'elevational view of a conven tional-type rural free delivery mailbox and the improved auxiliary or additional signalling flag mounted for use thereon.

Figure 2- is a front end elevation of the structure seen in Figure 1', observing it in a direction '30- from right to-left, a portion of the door and box taken on the line !i-6 of Figure 1, with the flag serving to retain the flag inthe stated downposiand therefore simple and practical, theusamebeing exteriorlymounted on a side of the'box opposite to the usual signalling flag A, and the arrangement being such that-its adoptionand use being broken away to expose the push button.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing, in sequential order, all of the essential parts which go i'ntomake up the complete construction. Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the principal parts of the stated hub assembly.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional and elevational'view taken vertically, the flag being in the down position as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a similar vertical sectional view in its up"posiition.

Figure '7 is asection on the line 'l'! of Figure 5, looking'in the direction of the arrows.

'Figure8 is a similar sectional View on the line 88 of Figure 6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 "is a view based on'Figure 6 and showing; the parts in elevation to bring out certain iunctibrisnot amplyreadable in the consideration of Figures-5 and 6.

Bywayof'introduction to the detailed description, I desire to point out that my invention is in the form-of an attachment for a standardtype rural mailbox having the usual swingable side fiag. A (not detailed) for outgoing mail, and when installed, will provide a second flag, the latter functioning to. denote that incoming mail has beenleft in the-box bythemail carrier, this for the'resid'ent.

I further desire to point out at this stage that the present invention has to do with refinements and improvements based upon a broadly similar signalling flag arrangement disclosed in application Serial No. 718,632 of December 27, 1946, now Patent No. 2,539,078, of which the present application is a continuation-in-part.

Referring now to the drawings by distinguishing reference numerals, it will be seen in Figure 1 that a suitable supporting post ll supports a more or less conventional type rural mailbox l2 which is open at its front or outer end and provided with a down-swinging door [3, said door having a finger latch l4 engageable with a retaining keeper [5. In carrying out the invention, a small opening is punctured or otherwise formed in the side wall it to accommodate the hub assembly H. The latter comprises a bearing Ila having an outstanding flange l8 which abuts the outer surface of said wall IE. In addition, there is a neck (a part of said bearing) [9 and this protrudes into the interior of the box, the same being screw-threaded to accommodate a clamping and retaining nut 20. The outer end of the bearing is provided with a short outstanding stud 2| which constitutes a detent. The flange l8 has a projecting pin 22 which, as best shown in Figure 9, constitutes a stop to limit the swinging movement of the staff 23 of the signalling flag 24 in a direction from left to right in Figure 1. This is the position in which the stafi is vertical and the flag is thus in an up position.

Referring now to Figures and 6, the numeral 25 designates a rocker shaft which is both slidably and rotatably mounted in the bearing or hub. The inner end of the shaft protrudes through the hub and into the mailbox, where it is screw-threaded, as at 26, to accommodate a detachable disk 2? which constitutes a push button and which is operable by the mail carrier. Incidentally, a coiled spring of an expansion type, as at 28, is provided and surrounds the assembling nut and is interposed between the wall l6 and the push button 21. This obviously serves to force the push button from left to right in Figures 5 and 6.

It will be noted that a collar 29 surrounds the outer end portion of the rocker shaft, and outwardly of this, the rocker shaft is screw-threaded, as at 36, to accommodate an assembling nut 3| which serves partly to hold. in place a cup-like casing 32. The disk portion of the casing is interposed between the nut and the collar and, as a unique arrangement, it will be seen that the stafi of the flag pierces the rim of the casing, passes through the collar and also through the rocker shaft, and thus serves to assemble the collar and easin on the rocker shaft. The collar 29 is of a diameter corresponding to the hub bearing Ha and one face of said bearing is in wiping contact with said collar and the face of the latter is provided with two keeper sockets 33 and 34 which serve to accommodate the projecting detent 2| on said hub bearing. The sockets 33 and 34 are approximately ninety degrees apart and the socket 33 serves to retain the flag in its down position while the socket 34 comes into play to hold the flag in its up position. To discern how this is accomplished, attention should be given to Figures '7 and 8, for in Figure '7 the flag is down, and in Figure 8 the flag is up. A torsional spring 35 is provided and is anchored at one end on the flange l 8 and connected at its opposite end to the flag staff, as at 36 in Figure 8.

The spring operates to automatically swing the flag from its down to its up position, as is obvious. Secondly, the stationary stop pin 22, previously mentioned, projects into the path of movement of the up-swinging flag and checks the movement of the flag staff when it arrives in its perpendicular or up position. In operation, when the flag is down, as shown in full lines in Figure 1, the detent 2! projects into the socket 33 and thus the flag stays down. Incidentally, the flag is swung down and placed in this position by the resident or owner of the box. It will be noted, too, that the slight horizontal sliding movement of the rocker shaft 25 in its bearing ll'a permits the collar 29 to move out from wall [6 sufliciently to clear the detent 2|, whereupon the torsional spring 35 becomes a return spring and pulls the parts together and seats the detent in its keeper socket. The spring will have to be especially made to serve as a contraction as well as a torsional member.

Obviously, when the push button 2'! is depressed, that is, forced in a direction from right to left in Figures 2, 5, 6 and 9, the rocker shaft 25 slides outwardly through the bearing Ila, permitting the collar 29 and its socket 33 to be disengaged from the detent 2|, whereupon the torsional spring 35 again comes into play and automatically swings the flag from down to up position. As the flag reaches its extreme up position, it comes into contact with and is stopped by the stop pin 22 and at the same time, or approximately so, the detent 2| then snaps into the socket 34, so that the flag is thus held in the stated up position. The same spring 35 assists in accomplishing this result, as is obvious. It might be pointed out, too, that the cushioning and button return spring 28 may be of sufl'icient strength to assist in feeding the detent in its respective keeper sockets 33 and 34 in both down and up positions.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprebonded by the spirit of the invention as herein described and within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed .as new is:

1. A rural mailbox attachment of the class shown and described comprising a flanged bearing having means whereby same may be securely mounted on an apertured wall of a mailbox, a rocker shaft mounted for oscillation in said bearing, a collar surrounding the rocker shaft and having one end in rotary abutting contact with a coacting end of the bearing, keeper seat means embodied in said collar, detent means carried by said bearing and engageable with said keeper seat means, a casing clamped on an end portion of said rocker shaft and enclosing the flanged adjacent end portion of the bearing and collar, a stop element carried by said flange and enclosed in said casing, a signalling flag including a staff passing through the rim portion of the casing, through said collar and through said rocker shaft, a coiled spring housed and confined in said casing, surrounding said collar and coacting end portion of said bearing, and attached at one end to said staff and attached at its opposite end to the flange.

2 A rural mailbox attachment of the class shown and described comprising a hub assembly embodying a bearing having an outstanding flange provided with a laterally disposed eccentric stop pin parallel to the bearing, one end of the bearing being screw-threaded, the other end of the bearing being provided with an outstanding detent pin in spaced parallelism to said stop pin, an assembling nut carried by the screwthreaded end of said bearing, a rocker shaft mounted for oscillation as well as sliding in said bearing, a push button detachably mounted on one end of said rocker shaft at a point beyond the bearing and stated assembling nut, a cylindrical cup-like casing including a body portion and a rim portion, said rim portion surrounding the peripheral edge portion of said flange, one end of said rocker shaft extending through an aperture in the body portion and being screwthreaded, a collar surrounding the rocker shaft and enclosed within the casing in end-to-end abutting contact with an adjacent end of said bearing, said collar having circumferentially spaced keeper sockets for alternate reception of said detent pin, said rim, collar and rocker shaft having aligned staff openings, a signalling flag comprising a flag and a staff, said staff extending through the aligned openings and being axially turnable to permit the display position of said flag to be angular-1y adjustedand a coiled spring in said casing anchored at one end on the flange, surrounding the bearing, and collar, and an" chored at its opposite end on said staff, and an assembling and clamping nut screwed on the screw-threaded end of said shaft and clamping said casing in its assembled position and binding said staff in an established position.

3. In a rural mailbox and mail carrier actuated signal of the class described, in combination, a conventional-type mailbox having an entrance at one end normally closed by the usual hingedly mounted door, a horizontal bearing fixed in one vertical side wall of said mailbox near the floor of the latter and just inwardly of said door, a rocker shaft mounted for both rotation and sliding in said bearing and having its inner end projecting beyond said bearing into said mailbox and its outer end projecting beyond said bearing and said one side, a signalling flag having a staff connected with the outer end of said rocker shaft and disposed at right angles to the latter and parallel to said one side, detent means interposed between said staff and bearing for releasably maintaining said staff in a horizontal down position, relatively fixed stop means on said bearing and in the path of swing of said staff for checking and retaining the latter in its up position, spring means connected with said staff and bearing and functioning to swing the staff from its down to its up position when said detent means is released, a trip button secured to the inner end of said rocker shaft and adapted to be pushed to slide the shaft in said bearing against the tension of the spring means and to thus release said detent means, and a spring interposed between said side Wall and button to return the button to its usual set position.

4. In a rural mailbox and mail carrier actuated signal of the class described, in combination, a conventional-type mailbox having an entrance at one end normally closed by the usual hingedly mounted door, a horizontal bearing fixed in one vertical side wall of said mailbox on a plane above the bottom of the latter and just inwardly of said door, a rocker shaft mounted to both rotate and slide in said bearing and having its inner end projecting beyond said bearing into said mailbox and having its outer end projecting beyond said bearing and said one side, a collar surrounding the outer end portion of said rocker shaft and the adjacent end of said bearing, detent means interposed between abutting surfaces of said collar and bearing, a casing mounted on the outer end portion of said rocker shaft and having a cylindrical rim portion concentrically surrounding said bearing and collar, said rim portion, collar and rocker shaft having aligned holes therein, a signal flag having a staff, said staff passing through all of said aligned holes and serving to key the collar and casing to the shaft and to simultaneously mount the staff for operation in conjunction with said shaft, collar and casing, a stop pin fixedly mounted on said bearing and confined within the limits of said casing, and a push button secured to the inner end portion of said rocker shaft, said detent means serving to maintain said staff normally in a hori zontal position and said stop means serving to check the upswing of the staff and to maintain same in a vertical up position.

5. In a rural mailbox and mail carrier actuated signal of the class described, in combination, a conventional-type mailbox having an entrance at one end normally closed by the usual hingedly mounted door, a horizontal bearing fixed in an aperture in one vertical side wall of said mailbox, said bearing having a flange bearing against the exterior surface of the stated side wall and of a diameter greater than said aperture and substantially sealing said aperture, a rocker shaft mounted for rotation as Well as sliding in said bearing and having its inner end projecting beyond said bearing into said mailbox and its outer end projecting beyond said bearing and said one side, a collar surrounding the outer end portion of said rocker shaft and having an end abutting the adjacent end of said bearing, the latter end of said bearing having an outstanding detent pin, the corresponding end of said collar having circumferentially spaced keeper sockets for selective reception of said detent pin, a horizontal stop pin secured eccentrically to said flange and disposed in parallelism with said bearing and the periphery 'of said collar, a substantially cylindrical casing mounted on the outer end of said rocker shaft and having a rim portion enclosing the collar, coacting portion of said bearing and fitting telescopically over and rotatable about the periphery of said flange, a signalling flag having a staff piercing said rim, collar and rocker shaft, a coiled spring within the confines of said rim and surrounding the bearing and collar and having one end anchored on said flange and the other end attached to said staff, and a spring returned push button secured to the inner end of said rocker shaft.

CARL M. TURNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 875,841 Patterson et a1. Jan. 7, 1908 884,964 Voss Apr. 14, 1908 1,292,050 Raney Jan. 21, 1919 2,098,242 Holmes Nov. 9, 1937 

